The 718 Back Roads Of Mein Mind

IN LIGHT OF the crossover mania that’s overtaken the land, it’s easy to see how General Motors came to devalue the contribution of its German Opel division, the corporation’s finest repository of chassis and light-car engineering smarts and keeper of what little remained of its European flair.

- Jamie Kitman

Remember, today we are hyped— or are being hyped, your pick—about self-driving cars for the future. And once your car drives itself, who is going to care if it shares its chassis and driving dynamics with a Chevy Colorado?

Well, I do. Which is why I’m not happy about consigning so many key, traditional touch points of automotive virtue to absentia. Things like handling, road holding, ride quality, and the response and feel of a car’s steering and the pedals that make it go and stop. These are what keep me from marching blindly into that dark and enveloping night of crossover America. This is why I might be unable to follow along happily when it’s time for self-driven cars.

As of today I like cars that need to be driven more than I like self driving ones. I don’t suppose one can stop the race to full autonomy, but for now I do counsel militant rejection of our era’s crossover paradigm. Because I am pretentious and an East Coast liberal to boot, I also have to at least imply this is a higher state of automotive consciousness to which others ought to aspire. So consider it implied.